New Beta: New API authentication methods, endpoints, and public API docs

[SeanKeenan]

Hi everyone,

For those I haven’t met, I’m Sean, an engineer on the Airtable API team.

Today our team is excited to announce the public beta (it’s public – so no need to sign up!) of several new API authentication features to make our API more secure for all our users. Bundled with them are the (long-requested!) metadata API, comments API, and webhook API.

And one more feature (my personal favorite): a new publicly accessible API docs site to learn about all of these in more exciting detail! Airtable Web API

• API authentication: personal access tokens
  • Use personal access tokens for more granular control over access to bases and workspaces: https://airtable.com/create/tokens.
• API authentication: OAuth for Integrations
  • Register an integration to build using OAuth 2.0: https://airtable.com/create/oauth.
  • Users can authorize third-party integrations with OAuth for a secure setup and granular controls.
• New API endpoints
  • As part of either of the authentication methods above, we have several new API endpoints and functionality, including the metadata API - please read our changelog for more info on these endpoints. Airtable Web API
• Enterprise Admin features
  • Enterprise admins can create service accounts that can utilize both of the new API authentication methods and associated API endpoints described above. This feature will help ensure continuity for scripts and integrations.
  • Admins will also be able to restrict whether and which OAuth third-party integrations can be used in their enterprises.

Additionally, we plan to announce a deprecation timeline for user API keys when these more secure authentication methods (personal access tokens and OAuth integrations) graduate from public beta to general availability. Per our deprecation guidelines, there will be a notice period of at least 12 months (from the date of that future announcement) before the deprecation is enforced.

This public beta is just the beginning! We plan on continuing to add new features and update existing ones based on your feedback.

Learn more from our updated API docs and then try it for yourself — and, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask here,

Sean, on behalf of the Airtable API Team

[Ambroise_Dhenai]

Would it be possible to add to the Metadata API a read on Automations?

So as to be able to extract the configuration of an automation (especially for documentation purposes, Changelog, etc.). Thanks !

[kuovonne]

Ambroise_Dhenain:

the same rate limit applied, and by “same”, I believe they mean “shared”.

To clarify, I believe that the web API rate limit applies to calling the web API, regardless of endpoint. However, I was asking about any limits in the other direction for webhooks. If I register a webhook to watch for data changes in a particular field, are there any limits that I should be aware of regarding how often or how many time that webhook will be called? For comparison, an automation that watches a single line text field will fire for every key press. If a webhook watches for changes in a text field, will the webhook be called for every key press?

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Ambroise_Dhenain:

Yea, it is able to watch the metadata api, and detect deletions:

It looks like the webhook payload can even include the previous cell data or previous field definition!

[dilipborad]

Hello @SeanKeenan,
I just added a question for this before a couple of days ago and now it’s available.
Thanks a lot. :+1:t3:

[Partyborn]

No, I mean the field ids for the filterbyformular parameter (okay, I wrote “sort”, which was wrong):

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[Ruchika_Abbi1]

SeanKeenan:

• API authentication: personal access tokens
• Use personal access tokens for more granular control over access to bases and workspaces: https://airtable.com/create/tokens .

How does this impact platforms like Softr / StackerHQ? Does this mean they should be using tokens to connect to Airtable?

Currently I create an “API user” account and then use the API keys for this account to connect to other platforms or for low code integrations through JS. Does it mean that going forward I should create a token and access the API’s through this token?

Will there be a charge to these tokens?

[fintable]

Amazing update, with this we should be able to dramatically improve the customer experience at Fintable !

[Jean_Francois_B]

kuovonne:

Thanks for this headsup. Will Airtable also be generating a tool where we can see what services have been using an API key in the past month/year/time frame? People setup automations/integrations that use an API key, and then forget what those integrations are.

Important question here, when user API keys will get depreciated.

[Rupert_Hoffsch1]

Wow, very good news!

[Willem_Dewulf]

This is amazing news! :raised_hands: Our team will definitely investigate this and see how we can improve the user experience for Pro Backup. Restoring comments, tables and bases has been requested by so many of our customers.

[kuovonne]

Should this beta be listed on this support page?